Pharm Module 1

Foundational Principles of Pharmacology

Adverse effects

unwanted or harmful side effects a medicine can cause

Drugs

• a substance used to prevent, diagnose, treat, or relieve disease or illness or to affect how the body works

Generic drug- A generic drug is a lower-cost version of a brand-name drug that works the same way. (ex. tylenol: generic name: acetaminophen)

Over-the-counter drug- medicine you can buy without a prescription

Prescription- a medicine that requires a healthcare provider's prescription before you can get it.

Pharmacology

study of drugs and how they affect the body

Regulatory bodies for drugs

DEA- Drug Enforcement Agency

FDA- Food Drug Administration

Absorption

taking something in or soaking it up

Blackbox warning

serious safety warning that tells people a medicine has important risk

Critical concentration

the minimum drug level needed for the medicine to work

Excretion

the removal of waste or drugs from the body

Half-line

the time it takes for half of a drug to be eliminated from the body

Loading dose

a larger first dose given to quickly reach the drug level needed to work.

Peak

the time when a drug reaches its strongest effect in the body.

Pharmacodynamics

what a drug does to the body and how it produces its effects

Pharmacokinetics

what your body does to the drug

A- Absorption- oral route, gastrointestinal

D- Distribution- circulatory system

M- Metabolism- usually the liver

E- Excretion- usually the kidneys

Receptor sites

special places on cells where drugs bind to produce their effects.

Agonist- binds to the receptor site and activates it

Competitive Antagonist- competes with agonist to bind to the same receptor site but doesn’t activate it

Non-competitive- doesn’t compete for the same receptor site but reduces or blocks agonist

Selective toxicity

a drug's ability to harm germs while causing minimal harm to the body's healthy cells.

High-risk medication

a medicine that can cause serious harm if not used correctly.

Interactions

when another drug, food, drink, or supplement changes the effects of a medicine

Trough

the lowest level of a drug in the bloodstream before the next dose.

Teratogenicity

the ability of a drug to cause birth defects in an unborn baby.

Actions of drugs

Primary-what the drug is supposed to do

Secondary- other things, often unavoidable that happens when someone takes a drug
Adverse effects- can be extensions of the primary action or secondary effects

Hypersensitivity vs Allergy

hypersensitivity- an allergic reaction caused by the body's immune system overreacting to a substance.

allergy- the body's immune system overreacting to a substance.

Types of Allergies

Anaphylactic reaction- severe reaction that effects 2+ body system

Cytotoxic reaction- destructive immune response where antibodies mistakenly attack and destroy
the body's own healthy cells

Serum sickness reaction- the immune system falsely identifies a protein in antiserum as a harmful
substance (antigen)

Delayed allergic reactions- response that happens later than expected, not immediately after a
stimulus or event. These occur often 24 – 72 hours after exposure

Dimensional Analysis

a method of solving medication math by using conversion factors so the units cancel out and the correct dose is found.

Precautions

special warnings or actions to help use a medicine safely and prevent problems.

Contraindications

reasons a medicine should not be used because it may cause harm.

Polypharmacy

taking multiple medications at the same time, increasing the risk of drug interactions and side effects.

5 DEA schedules

Schedule 1 (C-1)- High abuse potential and no accepted medical use (heroin, marijuana, LSD)

Schedule 2 (C-2)- High abuse potential with severe dependence liability (narcotics, amphetamines, barbiturates)

Schedule 3 (C-3)- Less abue potential than schedule 2 drugs and moderate dependence liability (non-barbiturate, sedatives, nonamphetamine stimulants, limited amounts of certain narcotics)

Schedule 4 (C-4)-Less abuse potential than schedule 3 and limited dependence liability (some sedatives, antianxiety
agents, and nonnarcotic analgesics)

Schedule 5 (C-5)- Limited abuse potential. Primarily small amounts of narcotics (codeine) used as antitussives or antidiarrheals. Under federal law, limited quantities of certain schedule V drugs may be purchased without a prescription directly from a pharmacist. The purchaser must be at least 18 years of age and must furnish suitable identification. All such transactions must be recorded by the dispensing pharmacist.

Drugs and Pregnancy Categories

Cat A-

Cat B

Cat C

Cat D

Cat X